Ironing machine



Aug. 18, 1925.

W. A. FRANTZ IRONING MACHINE Filed May 29,

Fig.2.

I N VEN TOR.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

UNITED STATES WALTER A. FRANTZ, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

IRONING MACHIN'E.

Application filed May 29,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER A. FRANTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahogaand State of hio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementv in Ironing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to ironing machines and has for its object the provision of a new and improved construction of the added roller ordinarily used therewith. uch machines, at least those designed for domestic use, ordinarily comprise a heated member and one or more paddedrolls rotated by power in contact therewith. Some machines have a roll supported, in horizontal position with a concave shoe mounted at one side thereof, and others have one or more rolls bearing upon the top of a heated member which may either be fixed or movable. These rolls are generally made with a cylindrical wooden core, the padding consisting of a plurality of turns or layers of cloth wound thereon, since no other type of padding remains uniformly soft and free from lumps. -It has always been found difficult to fasten this cloth because of its tendency to become slowly stretched as the machine is operated, and, if the free edge be sewed to the layer beneath, this stretching soon causes it to become' baggy and creased with deleterious effects upon the quality of the work. Also it is necessary to wind this cloth parallel with the threads because only in this way will it become evenly compacted: If the padding be cut on the bias the longitudinal stretching is accompanied with a shrinkage in the other dimension, thus rendering the diameter of the roll uneven. r

At the same time this loose end is a source of considerable annoyance, particularly in a machine of the type wherein the roll is located above the heated member, for the article to be ironed must be introduced beneath the roll and the falling of the cloth impedes the work and obscures the vision. The objects of my invention are the provision of means to retain this flap in place without producing bagging, wrinkling, or creasing of the roll and also without obstructing the normal and necessary tendency of the padding to creep circumferentially; the provision of a padded roll which shall 1922. Serial No. 564,602.

idly; while further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings accompanying and form ing a part of this application I have shown certain of the most successful modes of employing my said invention although it will be understood that these drawings are intended to be only illustrative and not limiting upon me. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate completed rolls embodying alternative forms of my invention; Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate intermediate steps in the manufacture of said rolls respectively; Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate alternate modes of attaching the acute angled ends ofthe cover strips; and Figs. 7 and 8 show alternative forms of ironers with which my invention may be employed.

Each roll comprises a wooden core 1 having rigidly secured thereto the shaft projections 2 which may either extend completely through the rolls or be fastened to the ends thereof by suitable end pieces 3. 5 represents the padding which consists of cloth wound on the core parallel .to the warp, to final edge-6 being left free and parallel to the roll axis. Beneath this edge I introduce the tip of a bias-cut fabric cover 7 which is then wound upon the padding and upon itself until its end is reached, this end also being oblique. to the roll axis and also preferably oblique toboth warp and woof, although the last named feature may be omitted, particularly if the edge be a selvage.

The outer end of this cover may be formed'either upon the double bias as shown at 8, 8 in Figs. 1 and 3 or upon a single bias as shown at 9 in Figs. 2 and 4, but in either case the direction of winding is such that the winding terminates with an acute tip 10 adjacent one or both ends of the rolls. In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 3 this produces an angular notch 11 at the middle of the roller with spiral edges progressing oppositely toward each end, and in the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4 this produces a single spiral running uninterruptedly from one end to the other. The circumferential length of this cover may var widely within certain limits. It should be greater than the circumference of the roll so as to cover the same completely and overlap sufficiently to avoid accidental separation in use, and should not be piled sufficiently deeply to cause its own tendency toward axial shrinkage to produce unevenness in the roll. I prefer to employ approximatelytwo layers of cover fabric although I do not restrict mystelf except within the limits described.

I have shown two alternative modes of fastening this cover piece, that delineated in Fig. 5 being to form the end piece 3 with a flange 4 beneath which the margin of the cover is tucked, and that delineated in Fig. 6 being to provide the tip or tips with tape 12 which is tucked between the core and the padding. Inasmuch as the core tends to rotate faster. than the padding the pull thus produced draws the cover tightly.

I do not limit myself to these arrangements as I find it possible to fasten it in other ways as by a band or cap of cloth.

When the exposed edge of the cover piece is out upon an angle-oblique to both warp and woof as herein illustrated and described there is no extended-unraveling and no need for hemming or sewing. In the form shown in Fig. 4 an alternative possibility is to use a selvage for the margin 9, which is entirely satisfactory, being thin and even. The device is entirely successful with the bias cut parallel to the weave, the only drawback being the occasional unraveling of a strand.

In, use the circumferential creeping of this cover draws it tight upon the padding yet without impeding the creeping of the latter also. The comparatively small thickness of the bias fabric prevents the latter from creeping to an objectionable extent in an axial direction andthe thin spiral edge makes no more mark upon the articles ironed than does the square edge of the usual padding. The double spiral arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is preferable to the single spiral of Figs. 3 and 4 in that it tends to pull equally in both directions but first turns and terminating in an angular either is usable.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I show application 0 my improvements to two representative types of ironing machines. In Fig.' 7, 15 represents the feeding shelf, 16 the heated member and 17 the gas burner, the rolls 7 L and 7 being rotated in the direction shown bythe arrows, and the heated member also being rotatable. The roll 7 has a higher peripheral speedthan'the roll 7, either by being made of greater external diameter and driven at the same angular speed or by being driven at a greater angular speed to compensate an equal or smaller diameter.

In this way the articles are stretched and burnished as well as being pressed and heated. In Fig. 8, 15 represents the feed shelf 16 the heated member, which here takes the form of a stationary shoe and 17 represents the'gas burner.

I do not restrict myself to any special angle of bias, nor to any special angle of winding, nor to any special angle of spiral, nor to any fixed thickness of the cover fabric, (except as hereinbefore noted), nor to any one mode of fastening the outer end of the cover fabric, nor even to the use of any fastening therefor; nor in any other way except as recited in my claims, since many changes in detail can be made.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A padded roll for ironing machines comprising, in combination, a cylindrical core, a plurality of turns of cloth wound thereon parallel to the weave, and an outside cover composed of a small plurality of turns of cloth wound upon said first turns at an oblique angle to 'the weave of said core, the outer end of said cover forming a spiral having an acute tip terminating at the end of the roll.

2. A padded roll for ironing machines comprising, in combination, a cylindrical core, a plurality of turns of cloth wound thereon parallel to the weave, and an outside cover composed of a small plurality of turns of bias-cut fabric interlinked with and wound upon said first turns.

3. A padded roll for ironing machines comprising, in combination, a cylindrical core, a plurality of turns of cloth wound thereon parallel to the weave, and an outside cover composed of a small plurality of turns of bias-cut fabric wound upon said first turns and terminating in a spiral edge which is oblique to the weave,

4. A padded roll for ironing machines comprising, in combination, a cylindrical core, a plurality of turns of cloth wound thereon parallel to the weave, an outside cover of bias-cut fabric wound upon said .fabric wound upon said first turns with its weave and its terminal edge both oblique to the axis of the roll.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature.

WALTER A. FRANTZ. 

